Unlike in English, in French, singular subjects have three possessive adjectives: masculine, feminine, plural.
Possessive adjectives of singular subjects in French
Look at these sentences:
Il déteste son frère.He hates his brother.
Tu as ton crayon ?Do you have your pencil?
J'aime mon chien.I love my dog
Jean aime ses parents.Jean loves his parents.
Note that the equivalent of 'my', 'your' or 'his/her' etc. are:
| Singular | Plural | ||
| English | (masc objects) | (fem objects) | (masc/fem) |
| my | mon |
ma |
mes |
| your (tu) | ton |
ta |
tes |
| his/her | son |
sa |
ses |
Note the similarity of the forms.
These are called possessive adjectives.
IMPORTANT: It's tempting to try to 'agree' these with the gender of the owner but only the first letter is determined by the owner (m = my; t = your, s = his/her) etc. The rest of the adjective is related to the gender and number of the thing they own.
Lisa adore son frère.Lisa adores her brother.
Il équipe sa voiture d'un gyrophare.He's fitting his car with flashing (police) light.
More Possessive Adjectives
Notre/nos/votre/vos/leur/leurs = our/your/their (French Possessive Adjectives)
and the more advanced
Common mistakes with mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes and son/sa/ses (French Possessive Adjectives)
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
